Ikigai is a concept originating from the Japanese Island of Okinawa, who have the largest population of centenarians in the world.

Iki – meaning life and gai meaning value or worth. Ikigai is essentially about finding your purpose in life, or a “ reason for being”, what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? It could also be the secret of longevity, so finding your true purpose can make you live happier, longer lives and with more direction.

Ikigai is an attitude towards life, a way of finding happiness, of always being busy both professionally and in our personal life. It’s the passion and talents that we have that gives meaning to our days and inspires us to share the best of ourselves with the world.

It makes sense that finding our “purpose in action” our reason for being can lead to a sense of well being, joy and longevity. Being in a state of flow where you are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, the experience is so enjoyable that many people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. I can definitely relate to that, being so engrossed in creating a piece of work that I forget everything around me.

So, when I came across this concept it resonated deeply with me as an artist because it made me re-evaluate and think about what is important to me as a creative person, what is my purpose? Why am I doing what I’m doing creatively? Finding my reason for being gives me a focus, and a purpose in action. In understanding what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs from you, what you can be paid for what you create, it helps define your self worth and value.

By asking myself those questions, I understand that my works of cut paper art continue to evolve because its a continuous journey of improvement, exploration, and passionately expressing my way of seeing things through my eyes and feeling joyful when a new work evolves into something that I am proud of and want to share with others. I realise how much joy and a sense of fulfilment I feel by creating new works of art that make people feel happy and smile because they connect with my work.

So, if you can find pleasure and satisfaction in what you do and you’re good at it, congratulations you have found your Ikigai, your reason for being.

When I decided to swop my paints and brushes to explore a dry medium, using a multicoloured palette of textured papers and a Swan Norton scalpel, I was on a journey of unfamiliar territory of exploration. I wanted to find a new way of expressing myself above the noise: there are so many amazing and gifted painters but to find an art form not so commonly used in order to share my art and designs in a less cluttered space.

“What is cut paper?” people ask. How can you “paint” with paper? Cut paper is still a relatively unexplored medium. Some artists use one block colour and cut out a whole image, and mount it on a contrasting colour, some use other methods, using scissors and different materials, like magazines and newspaper. I am a purist so use only coloured paper, my art is not a collage of printed material, nor do I paint in details. My designs are carefully constructed using chosen textured shades of paper to replicate the image I have in my head. For me it is equally as challenging as creating a painting with paint.

I try to explain my methodology of working, as people ask me why do I work in paper when paint is so much easier and faster? So, instead of using a wet medium of paint in various shades and hues and creating a painting using an array of brushes, my method was to create a “cut paper painting” using hundreds of component pieces of different shades of paper, carefully positioned leaf by leaf, blade of grass by blade of grass, every minute detail rendered by hand, cut carefully with a scalpel then positioned and stuck in place to create the painting I had created in my initial sketch. 

Looking back, Matisse was my first inspiration as he was the most prolific artist to use paper as a viable art form . He chose to use it as blocks of vibrant colour, in big bold graphic abstract shapes that are universally recognised and admired. He made paper art acceptable as a new form of art expression, despite criticism. I looked carefully at his works, then I looked at other works for inspiration like Japanese wood blocks, the extraordinary designs of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and most importantly for me, Nature and the Living World. Nature and living creatures are a wonderful source of inspiration for me and feature consistently in my growing gallery of works. I try to imbue some life force and expression into all  the living creatures I create, from birds to cats, to people. Cat in the Garden for example, a cat with a defiant gleam in its eyes engages the viewer in a challenging glance. I want to provoke a response! I like to capture a flavour of the orient in some of my works, mostly with birds. I am always looking for inspiration in nature as it’s a never ending source of beauty. 

FSW